The Perfect Prescription: Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation Picks Convio for Online Communications and Fundraising

Foundation for Nation's Fourth Largest Hospital Uses Leading Internet Tools to Attract and Cultivate Next Generation of Major Donors

Austin, Texas (May 1, 2006) —

Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation (HUMC), the fundraising organization supporting the country's fourth largest hospital in patient admissions, has selected Convio Internet tools to increase giving and build stronger relationships with the next generation of major and planned givers.

Convio is the leading provider of online constituent relationship management solutions (eCRM) for nonprofit organizations, including hospitals and their affiliated foundations. The company's on-demand software and services help organizations use the Internet for developing strong constituent relationships to drive fundraising and other forms of mission-critical support.

The HUMC Foundation is the latest in a growing list of hospitals and hospital foundations that work with Convio to meet short- and long-term fundraising challenges common today in this segment of the nonprofit sector. These organizations, heavily reliant on major and planned giving, need to expand their donor bases, drive more individual donations, strengthen recurring and planned giving programs, and cultivate future major donors. In addition to the HUMC Foundation, additional hospital and hospital foundations using Convio include Fenway Community Health, Children's Hospital Foundation (Washington, DC), Stamford Health Foundation (supporting the Bennett Cancer Center at Stamford Hospital) and Saint Barnabas Medical Center Foundation.

With Convio, the HUMC Foundation now can use the Internet to proactively reach out to and develop stronger relationships with a broader base of potential donors. Convio tools enable the foundation to learn more about constituents and Web site visitors, such as their interests and motivations for getting involved. The foundation can collect the same information on current donors and also track their history of interaction with the organization, including how much and how often they give, whether they participate in its fundraising events and other activities, and more. The foundation then can use this information to communicate regularly with supporters through personalized, more relevant email and Web site content (e.g., updates on medical facility news, foundation events, fundraising campaigns, etc.) More frequent and personalized communications help engage supporters, increase loyalty and foster giving.

"We know in today's wired society that people, especially younger adults, increasingly are using the Internet to get information, stay informed and make donations," said Robert L. Torre, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation. "We needed a better way to reach the younger generation who were not responding through traditional marketing channels. Convio enables us to strategically leverage the online channel so we can access a much larger audience and lay the foundation for future giving."

Convio's eCRM solution will enable the HUMC Foundation to significantly increase the size of its donor email file and more effectively support recurring, major and planned giving programs. By acquiring a greater number of donor email addresses, the foundation can more easily identify and nurture stronger e-relationships with people most likely to become the organization's largest givers in coming years and decades. The HUMC Foundation also will expand its base of supporters and donors by integrating its online and offline marketing campaigns to begin driving more visitors to the organization's Web site, http://www.humcfoundation.com/.

The HUMC Foundation recently completed Phase I of a multi-year capital campaign and plans to use Convio's Internet tools to help increase awareness and drive fundraising for Phase II which begins in 2007. The foundation will use funds collected during Phase II for building a new state-of-the-art, $100 million Cancer Center that will serve patients across the country.

"The Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation is a good model for hospitals and hospital foundations because the organization is making an important commitment to incorporate Convio's market-leading Internet tools into its communications and fundraising programs," said Gene Austin, CEO, Convio. "This is a key step in not only building stronger relationships with donors across the country, but also with younger constituents who eventually will become the major and planned givers of the future."

About Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation

Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation was incorporated in 1980 and serves as the philanthropic arm in support of the medical center's capital and programmatic initiatives. Through Annual and Capital Campaigns, a comprehensive Planned Giving Program and a variety of Special Events, the Foundation staff develops a broad base of constituents from both the private and public sector yielding over 21,000 gifts annually.

After successfully completing Phase I of a comprehensive $125 million campaign, HUMC opened The Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women's and Children's Pavilion in December 2005. The Gabrellian Pavilion features The Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital, The Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital, and The Mark Messier Skyway for Tomorrows Children. Phase I also included the world's first Audrey Hepburn Children's House, a state-designated Regional Diagnostic Center for Child Abuse and Neglect.

Phase II will complete this multi-year capital campaign with gifts of $50 million toward building one of the finest Cancer Centers in the nation.

About Convio

Convio is the leading provider of on-demand software and services to help nonprofits use the Internet strategically to build strong relationships with constituents for driving fundraising, advocacy and other forms of support. Convio has online solutions for fundraising, advocacy, Web content management, event fundraising, ecommerce and email communications. All solutions include the Constituent360™ platform, a sophisticated, online marketing database that centralizes constituent data and integrates with offline databases.

Convio has been named 2005 "Private Company of the Year" by the Austin Business Journal. In addition to Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation, the company's clients include American Red Cross, American Diabetes Association, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, AVON Foundation, Easter Seals, Farm Aid, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Trust For Historic Preservation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and Thirteen/WNET New York. For more information, please visit www.convio.com. 

Press Contact:
Karoline McLaughlin
Director, Corporate Communications
Convio, Inc.
kmclaughlin@convio.com
512-652-7865